Body-form.



MARIE-LOUISE CARRARA.

BODY FORM.

APPLICATION HLBD Anus, 1912.

` 1,0921 38, Patented Apr. 7, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

MARIE-LOUISE CARRARA.

BODY FORM.

APPLIUATION FILED APILZQ. 1912.

Patented Apr. 7, 1914 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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MARIE-LOUISE CARRARA.

BODY FORM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 29, 1912.

Patnted Apr. '7, 1914 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

fag/wr@ 73% Tw. ClM/ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARIE-LOUISE CARRARA, OF RENENS, NEAR LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND, ASISIGNOR 10 THE FIRM OF SOCIT ANONYME LE BUSTE UNIVERSEL, OF LAUSANNE,

SWITZERLAND.

BODY-FORM.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, MAiunLoUisE Cnn- RARA, a subject of the King of Italy, residing at Renens, near Lausanne, in the Confederation of Switzerland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Body-Forms, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improved extensible body forms for cutting patterns and garments, and especially to such body forms as are made of a plurality of elements of metal or other rigid'material, connected with one another by means of suitable joints, by means of which the form may be adjusted on the body of a person (woman, child or man) and be used afterward as a model for making garments for the person so litted. Body forms of this kind have been made, in which a skeleton is built up of a series of detachable sections,each composed of a series of iieXible or jointed bands, or of long strips running parallel to one another, the different pieces being connected together by slots, studs and nuts, or by clamping collars and screws. All these devices present a large number of open spaces, and comprise long' rigid portions which limit the extension and contraction of the several parts of the body form, and moreover the iitting of said forms always requires considerable time adjusting the great number of screws or nuts employed.

The object of this invention is to overcome these inconveniences and to provide a body form, as it were, like a coat of mail, each element of which is hinged with the others in all directions.

According to my invention, the elements of the form are each connected with four links which are in their turn connected together, the length of each elementand link being largely reduced. The several joints are made by rivets, or similar devices which are tightened to a degree suiiicient for frictionally holding the elements in their positions, as long as they are not displaced intentionally, but not sufficient to prevent an easy adjustment of the form. The new body form is moreover provided with means for iiXing the fabric to the body form.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of the trunk portion of the body form, Fig. 2 is a front view of the portion shown in Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 29, 1912.

Patented Apr. 7, 1914.

Serial No. 693,911.

Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an elevation of a sleeve portion. Fig. l shows separately a different construction of a locking device, and several other parts not shown in Fig. l. Fig. 5 is a section on the line A-B of Fig. 4, 'and Fig. 6 is a section on the line C-D of Fig. 5.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the body form is made of several elements a., each of which is shaped like a cross. Each of the four arms of each element is connected by means of suitable links Z to the corresponding end of an adjacent element o. he connection of the links with the elements c, is made by means of suitable rivets or similar devices, permitting the elements and the links to be easily adjusted to position relatively to one another, but to remain in their relative positions as long as they are not shifted intentionally. The complete body form therefore, may be easily extended or diminished both longitudinally and transversely, according to the dimensions of the body to be riitted.

0n the front portion of the body form, the adjacent elements a; are connected by means of suitable links c', or c2, the links c being provided wit-'h suitable buttons or projections intended to engage corresponding parts on the links c2, so as to permit the form to be .opened at its front portion and placed on the body of the person to be measured. The sleeve forms, one of which is shown separately in Fig. 3, are constructed similarly to the forms for the body and are formed of several cross elements a, connected together by means of suitable links Any or all of the elements a, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, may be provided with loops (Z, into which suitable hooks e are adapted to engage. These hooks c are provided with spring portions f, adapted to it over and engage the same. The edges of a piece of cloth to be i'iXed on the body form, are gripped between these springs j' and the hooks e.

Instead of the clamp devices for connecting the front portions of the form together, as hereinbefore described and as indicated at c and 02, l may employ as shown in Fig. 1, a lug h secured to one of the arms of each edge element or member a and adapted to pass through slots provided therefor in a link or connecting member g, each lug L being provided with an aperture through which a pin or bolt z' may be passed to secure the parts together.

The elements a and links I) may be made of metal or of any other suitable material. The elements a are preferably cross shaped, as hereinbefore stated, and two adjacent elements a. might be connected with one another by means of two links forming aparallelogram instead of a single link. The several elements or part of same might be provided with other means than those described with reference to Figs. l to 6, for the purpose of fixing the cloth to the same, without departing from the nature and spirit of my invention.

The body form may be made of several portions corresponding to the different pieces of cloth forming the different parts of the garment; these different portions of the form being connected to one another for instance as shown in Fig. 2, for the two front edges of the body form, so that the said different portions of the form maybe separated at will from one another, with a view to cutting the corresponding portionsv oi cloth for the garment. The body form may also be provided with a lower portion eX- tending downward tothe bottom of a skirt, the waist of which is arranged on the form.

I claim as my invention:

An adjustable body form Jfor itting garments, comprising a plurality of similarly shaped cross bar members, and links employed in pairs, the corresponding ends of each pair of links being pivotally connected together, the other ends of each pair of links being pivotally connected to the corresponding parts of adjacent cross shaped members so that the said crossvshaped members may be turned about their centers within the limits of the said links and may also be moved toward and away from each other within the limits of the said links, the pivotal connections between the several parts being made with a suiliciently frictional contact to maintain the said parts in the position in which they may beset.

In testimony whereof I have aiiXed my signature in presence oftwo witnesses.

MARIE-LOUISE CARRARA. f

Witnesses:

, Dr. R. DE VVURTEMBURGELIN,

Louis H. MUNIER.

Coplel of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingrthe 't Commissioner of Patents, 

